Winter Wonderland

This week's challenge at Our Creative Corner is to use snowflakes and/or snowmen on your card. Easy, right? So no excuses for not playing along ;) Be sure to hop on over to the Our Creative Corner blog for challenge details, plus a beautiful sample from special guest Janice Melton (catcrazy on SCS), as well as samples from the regular OCC designers. For more chitchat on the samples, visit the designers' blogs:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden

The layout is from Jen del Muro's awesome Sketch for You to Try this week. You can find the sketch, guest designer Becca Feeken's sample, and Jen's sample at i{heart}2stamp. I can't wait to see what the rest of the team put together with this sketch:

Amy R
Carole
Shannan
Susan

I was so excited to ink up this charming little snowman from Verve's new Snow Wonderful set. Isn't he adorable with that sweet, innocent face looking up? I stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored with Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, and a blending stump, then layered the three snowman parts using the Paper Tole method. I adhered the snowman to a Soft Sky panel that had been glittered with Icicle Stickles.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!



Stamps: Snow Wonderful (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Baja Breeze textured, Whisper White, Soft Sky textured, Ski Slope dp (all SU!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: liquid applique, Prismacolors, Gamsol, blending stumps, dimensionals, Icicle Stickles, classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, Soft Sky double-stitched ribbon, Baja Breeze double-striped ribbon, white satin ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, half-back pearl from the SU Pretties kit, paper piercer
Size: 5 1/2" square

Season of Joy

I recently got a sheet of something called Cotton Scraps from Crafty Secrets. In case you haven't seen these, what you get is an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cotton twill that's been printed with all sorts of wonderful, vintage images. I cut one of the images from the "Winter" sheet, frayed the edges a little and used it as the focal point of my card. So quick and easy! I was comparing my stash of Christmas cards with my list and realizing I still have a LOT of cards to make. I'm feeling a little more encouraged after this quickie.

So it's Black Friday in the US - are you shopping today or staying put? Me personally - I don't do mornings or crowds willingly. You're not likely to catch me anywhere near a store today! No thanks :)

Unless it's an online store, of course. And speaking of shopping and sales and online stores, here's a little something ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd like to wish all of my American readers a Happy Thanksgiving. And I hope everyone, American or not, has a wonderful, blessed day! I have so many things to be thankful this year, and I'm looking forward to spending the day enjoying my friends and family and reflecting on all of God's blessings this past year. One thing I'm thankful for is this awesome hobby we all share, which has given me a chance to get to know so many other stampers and papercrafters. You all are the best!

Sorry no card or project :( Sick kids, traveling, etc. I have some winter and Christmas stuff ready to go for tomorrow and Saturday, though. See you again then!

Big hugs,
Amy

Christmas Church

I have a peek today of one of the two new sets coming on December 1 from Our Daily Bread Designs. This beautiful Christmas church scene is from the set Worship the Lord, which also has two sentiments and a Scripture stamp. I adore the tranquility of the scene and plan on making a few extras to use as Christmas cards this year. Don't worry - these will go to other artistic types!

I stamped on watercolor paper and colored with a combination of an aqua painter with re-inkers and markers. I sponged some extra ink on the sky using Bordering Blue ink. The snow is a combination of liquid applique, Frosted Lace Stickles, and a Sakura stardust gel pen. I cut the image panel using Stampin' Up's Top Note Sizzix die, then hand-cut a Chocolate Chip mat. The designer papers are from the Frost Collection by Memory Box. I used the Stampin' Up curvy label punch to create the white scalloped trim around the background panel.

Here's a detail shot of some of that sparkle:



Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Worship the Lord (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Stampin' Up's Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, and Baja Breeze; Memory Box Frost collection dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; Chocolate Chip, Bordering Blue, Going Gray, Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Baroque Burdundy
Accessories: liquid applique, Frosted Lace Stickles, Sakura Stardust pen, Martha Stewart star border punch, Chocolate wide satin ribbon, Top Note die, scalloped border punch, curvy label punch, aqua painter, sewing machine, K&Co snowflake brad, K&Co lacy snowflake stickers
Size: 5 3/4" square

New Rubbah!

What an awesome mail week - lots of new images to play with! This sweet little giraffe is from a NEW stamp company: Our Craft Lounge. Have you heard yet? SCS old-timers Cambria Turnbow and Joy Kennedy have teamed up to bring us Marianne Walker's (of Copic marker fame) drawings to use in stamp form. The first collection of images is fantastic, and I'm super excited to see what comes next! You can read more about how the company started here.

I used Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try for my layout. Be sure to visit Jen at i{heart}2stamp, so you can see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Becca Feeken's sample. Check out what the rest of the SFYTT posse has cooked up - I love these girls!!

Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan

All are welcome to play along. Remember to use keyword: SFYTT if you upload to SCS.

I stamped the giraffe on some of Gina K Designs' new Pure Luxury card stock. Holy smokes, as soon as I took a piece out of the package, I knew I was holding something special. The surface is silky smooth, the weight is nice (it's available in 80 pound and 120 pound - I tried the 8o-pound here), and it works beautifully with Copic markers, which I used for my coloring today. All the pretty papers are from a K&Co/Brenda Walton pad that I found at my local Jo-Ann's. One thing you can't see well, if at all, in the photo, is the subtle shimmer I added with a clear Spica pen. The giraffe is completely coated, but I also edged all the dp panels and the white image panel with a thin line. The touch of sparkle looks really nice IRL.


This next card is my sample for the challenge at Our Creative Corner this week:



Denise Marzec, our November host, has created an awesome sketch! You'll find the sketch, a sample from our guest designer Jami Bova (so glad to have you, girl!), as well as samples from the OCC team on the OCC blog. To play along, link up your sketch creation as a comment on the blog. If you upload to SCS, remember to add keyword: OCCC.

The lighthouse image is from a to-die-for set from Cornish Heritage Farms called "Beacon of Hope." I adore lighthouses and ocean-theme images, and this set is full of them. Not to mention some really touching sentiments. I'm expecting to get lots of use out of this one. I stamped on watercolor paper, colored with an aqua painter and Stampin' Up reinkers, then embellished with some navy grosgrain, rope twine, distressing, piercing (of course), and Antique Brass brads.

Have a great weekend!



Giraffe:
Stamps: Tree-mendous Love (Our Craft Lounge)
Paper: SU Certainly Celery, Prismatics Island Mist Medium, Brenda Walton Small Wonders Boy dp by K&Co
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers; Spica glitter pen; various ribbons from my stash (sources unknown); SU rhinestone brads, silver brads, filigree brads, paper piercer, and dimensionals; sewing machine; flowers by Daisy D's and Prima

Lighthouse:
Stamps: Beacon of Hope (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Paper: SU Night of Navy; Prismatics Medium Tawny card stock; Granola dp by Basic Grey; Canson watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, SU Night of Navy and Creamy Caramel, reinkers for coloring
Accessories: aqua painter, edge distressing tool, antique brass brads, dimensionals, sponge daubers, paper piercer, rope twine, 1/2-inch navy grosgrain

Thankful Hearts - A Dirty Challenge

On the 20th of each month, past and current Dirty Dozen designers get together for a fun challenge. Sharon Harnist has hosted this month's awesome challenge:

Challenge Focus: Create a thankful card or gift, Thanksgiving table placecard or treat holder, or Thanksgiving home decor item.

Required Element: At least one heart on your project.

Restricted Element: Nothing

Be sure to have a look at all the projects HERE.

All day yesterday I was a day behind, so by the time I figured out today is the 20th and not tomorrow, I had no brainpower left to create anything more than a card. I used the same overall layout of Tuesday's card, too, except that I turned the Top Note die panel into a raised frame for the main image. The image is from Give Thanks by Our Daily Bread Designs, and is watercolored with an aqua painter, Stampin' Up markers and Stampin' Up reinkers. My heart element is a metal button in the upper left of the frame. I tied some burlap string through it and put a brown twill ribbon tab behind it. The bottom Mellow Moss edge is done with a Martha Stewart border punch. The bottom large panel is raised up on 1/16" dimensionals, and the Top Note frame is raised up on 1/8" foam squares. I'll be giving this one to my mom on Thanksgiving Day to show my thanks that she's hosting the family dinner this year. Hope she likes it! Actually, she has to like it, right? It's a "mom requirement" :)

I was going to save this next project for tomorrow, but I'm terrible at sitting on things. I made this for yesterday's SCS sketch challenge.



The Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus image, also from Our Daily Bread Designs, is from a new set called Joy to the World. The star is from We Three Kings. I did my coloring with an aqua painter, reinkers, and markers. See that gorgeous piercing around the perimeter? Oh my gosh, I've had my eye on the Ornare piercing templates forever! Kelley now carries them at ODBD, so now I have a couple to try! There are lots of different styles - check 'em out HERE.

Thanks for stopping by, and I'll see you again on Saturday for Jen's Sketch for You to Try and a new Our Creative Corner challenge!




Thanksgiving Blessings:
Stamps: Give Thanks (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Canson watercolor paper, Memory Box "Twiggy" designer paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black; lots of Stampin' Up re-inkers and markers
Accessories: K&Co metal heart, burlap string from Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts, Offray brown twill, Martha Stewart border punch, SU Top Note Sizzix die, aqua painter, paper piercer, Chocolate Chip marker

Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus:
Stamps: Joy to the World and We Three Kings (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: CTMH Cocoa, CTMH Simple Pleasures designer paper, Canson watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, lots of Stampin' Up and CTMH reinkers and markers
Accessories: Spellbinders square Nestabilities, Offray brown twill, K&Co metal buttons, Ornare piercing templates, dimensionals, paper piercer, sponge daubers

Triangle Fold Medallion

I played along with yesterday's Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS, which was to create a triangle fold medallion. The medallion is made with four of the patterns from Stampin' Up's Haiku designer series paper, then layered onto a combination of three scalloped circles and a top-note die-cut. The flower center is an Old Olive felt flower with a silver circle brad to hold it in place. I stamped "Birthday Celebrations" from Upsy Daisy, then cut it out with a Spellbinders label die. The bottom lacy edge is done with a Martha Stewart border punch.

Before I go, I'd love to share some recent goodies I've received. A few weeks ago, I posted about using the retired Cranberry Crisp card stock so much, and wondered what I'll do when I run out. Would you believe a pack of Cranberry Crisp card stock and a spool of stitched ribbon showed up in my mailbox a few days later from the amazingly sweet, talented, fellow dirty girl Jessie Rone? It was such a thoughtful and unexpected surprise it brought tears to my eyes! And now I don't have to worry about running out for that much longer. As if that weren't enough, she included this most darling card EVER:



Then, last week, another beautiful surprise from Heather Rolin of H&M Stamps:



Arent those angels the sweetest? Heather is such an amazing artist. Check out the adorable images she has at H&M Stamps!

I have one more beautiful RAK from last week, plus some overdue birthday RAKS from September, but I'll post those on another day!
Thanks for visiting,



Stamps: Upsy Daisy (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard card stock; Haiku designer paper (all SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron
Accessories: circle brad, felt flower, silver brads, paper piercer, dimensionals, sponge daubers, Top Note Sizzix die (SU!); scalloped Nestabilities and label die (Spellbinders); Martha Stewart lace border punch; Saffron grosgrain (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder
Size: 5 1/4" square